It is easy for us to speak boldly about faith when life is steady, and everything is going well. The real test comes when everything is shaken and life pushes us to a breaking point. We all have one and until we are in that moment, only God truly knows what is in our
hearts, whether we will break or stand on faith. Faith is the heartbeat of the Believers’ life. It’s what connects us to God, carries us through trials, and gives us hope for the future. It is believing God is good even when life doesn’t feel or look good. Yet faith can sometimes seem invisible when life storms hit, doubts rise, and we may question our faith.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Today someone lost a loved one, a child is missing, someone was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and somewhere there is a person being abused. Today a relationship ended and someone lost their job. Today there are many people who are in pain, homeless, hungry and in a state of depression. I am not making this up; there are horrific things happening to someone somewhere. The ugliness and broken state of this world makes it difficult to see the beauty of God’s creation. It is praying times and we must pray that God opens our inner spiritual vision so we can perceive
His truth clearly, rather than relying only on our natural eyes or human logic. Only then can we see there is beauty in broken things when God holds the pieces.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” (Romans 8:22)
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” (Romans 8:22)
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,” (Ephesians 1:17)
I am reminded of Elijah, an Old Testament Prophet of God. Elijah’s name means “My God is Yahweh” and his story is told in 1 and 2 Kings. He was a bold defender of God in Israel, opposing pagan idol worship under King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. They served Baal and set up an altar to worship this false idol. Their prophets taught that this false idol was responsible for droughts, curses, diseases, and other disasters, so they made sacrifices to appease their little god. They sacrificed goats, sheep, and sometimes humans were burned alive.
Israel had largely turned away from Yahweh to worship the false god Baal (1 Kings 18:18, Hosea 8-14). Sounds a lot like the world we live in. However, Elijah was a man with immense faith in God, who had powerful awesome moments, like the confrontation and victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 King 18). He is also known for praying and closing the heavens to produce a three-year drought (1 Kings 17). In 1 Kings 17: 17-24, Elijah also raised a widow’s son from death. Elijah was a man of faith, yet he was also a man who, at one point, asked God to let him die. Why would Elijah who was passionate about God run in fear, hiding
from Queen Jezebel who threatened him with death. Why would he give up and say just let me die? I believe Elijah had reached his breaking point. He was tired, he felt isolated, and he felt he was the only one who was being obedient to God. It can happen to the best of us. We can relate to Elijah living in a world that does the opposite of what God’s Word says. Even though God’s Word tells us that His people are set apart, sometimes we may feel isolated and alone.
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19)
God showed up and out for Elijah many times and he still reached a breaking point. We dare not judge Elijah because God shows up for us time and time again and we still get scared or overwhelmed sometimes. Does it make us faithless? I think not. It makes us human. Yeshua (Jesus) was God in human flesh. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me: yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). The cup He was referring to was the intense physical, spiritual, and emotional suffering, including God’s wrath against sin, that he knew He was about to endure on the cross. Just for a moment He was at a breaking point, but He did not break. He did not break because the very next moment His eyes were back on the Father, saying “Not my will, but yours be done.” I believe the lesson here is, even though we may reach a breaking point, we must remember to keep our eyes on the Lord, no matter what is going on. It is important to keep our gaze on the things of beauty in this world that God has created and only glance at the ugliness of the world that the enemy is creating. We cannot be consumed by the things of this world because 1 John 4:16 tells us that although we are in the world, we are not of the world. Yeshua (Jesus) is not talking about our bodies; He is talking about our spirits! In Galatians 5:25, Paul says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” This means that we keep our eyes on Him. Every step of the Believers walk is lived with the awareness that He is right there with us, leading, guiding, and protecting us on our way. We walk by faith and not by sight because we know who is in control no matter how it looks or feels.
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13)
“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
We can have big, crazy faith and yet still struggle under pressure. God is not looking for perfect people, but those who are willing to be obedient and to trust Him. God did not get mad because Elijah was afraid and ran. He did not chastise him for giving up and wanting to
die. Instead, He sent an angel to minister to him. He gave him food and rest, and he will do the same for us. God does not want us living under the enemy’s condemnation or the stresses of this world, but
under His wings of mercy, grace, and favor. When we are faithful and obedient to His Word, we are in a place of divine protection. When it becomes too much to bear, God knows best how to carry us through it.
He is the hope and help we can rely on, no matter what life throws at us, God will lift us, as He did Elijah. Love and Blessings…
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships,
in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
EMMANUEL 